Chelsea boss Antonio Conte hits back at Arsene Wenger over loan stars as he insists they are 'not ready' for the club

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Antonio Conte has defended the club's loan policy after Arsene Wenger insisted he has no 'sympathy' for the Chelsea manager over his threadbare squad.

The Chelsea boss' lack of first-team options were compounded after he confirmed Pedro will miss Saturday's opener against Burnley with an ankle injury.

Having lost a host of first team players over the summer including Nemanja Matic, John Terry, Nathan Ake and Nathaniel Chalobah and with over 20 other contracted players out on loan, Conte's squad is lacking serious depth going into the new campaign.

Antonio Conte insists he does not want sympathy from Arsene Wenger or any other manager

When asked about the issue on Wednesday, Arsenal manager Wenger insisted he had no sympathy with Conte given the number of players Chelsea have let go out on loan.

And Conte aimed a thinly veiled riposte at Wenger whilst also defending his decision to loan out the likes of Kurt Zouma and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, saying: 'I am not looking for sympathy from any coaches for this situation. That is my message.

'I think the situation is clear and I am not looking for sympathy.

'If the club decided to send on loan a player for development it is because that this player is not ready to play for Chelsea.'

And Conte has refused to guarantee any of the young players who have not been loaned out this season first team action.

'This question (about young players) is not easy,' said Conte.

'When you speak about pressure with me and I am used to the pressure. For the young players it's difficult because they are not used to it. They can pay for the pressure.

'It's difficult to judge young players only from training sessions. There are moments when you have to take risks because you haven't got other possibilities. You have to cope with the young player.' 

The Italian insists players who have left the club on loan are not ready to play for Chelsea

Arsene Wenger claimed to have sympathy for Conte's squad issues at Chelsea earlier this week

But despite the lack of squad depth, Conte insists his side will have no excuses if their title defence gets off to a negative start.

'I want to see the real Chelsea because I think that now the season is starting and we must be ready,' he said.

'We must be ready also if in this moment many players are missing and we have to go with these players, we have to try play good football. For sure, it won't be easy in this part of the season but I don't want to find any excuse for me, for my staff or for my players. We have to go to fight, try to win with these players. It's not important who is injured.

'It's important to do our best and that's the most important thing.'

Alvaro Morata has 'improved a lot' but needs more time to adapt to Conte's playing system 

Meanwhile, Diego Costa has opened a legal case against the club over his pending exit from Stamford Bridge.

Last week the striker's legal representatives Ricardo Cardoso threatened Chelsea with a lawsuit regarding the club's treatment of the Spain striker, particularly their refusal to sanction his protracted return to Atletico Madrid.

And Sportsmail understands proceedings have now started.

Costa, who is not training at the club's Cobham HQ, has accused Conte of informing he was no longer wanted via a text message during the summer.

Conte and Chelsea are adamant Costa was aware of the situation in January.

Diego Costa has been training away from Chelsea's training ground after falling out with Conte